Hi everyone. It’s Millie here. Our mom finally got around to taking some pictures of what is flowering in our yard right now and then she actually said we could do a post. We have lots of perennials and some shrubs in bloom right now so let’s take a look.

Goats Beard – Aruncus dioicus

Goats Beard – close up

Hosta

The hummingbirds just love drinking from the hosta.

Stella D’Oro Daylily

Spirea flowers

Therese Bugnet rose

Rugosa Rose

Amsonia and Ladies Mantle

Amsonia – close up

Campanula Blue Waterfall

Campanula Blue Waterfall – close up

Clematis

I hope you enjoyed checking out some of the flowers blooming in our yard right now. This is what I was doing while mom was taking all those pictures.

This is my happy place.

We are joining Rosy for this weeks Flower Friday. Stop by her blog to see what other blogs are doing. They probably have flowers of their own to show.

One of the things Orioles like to eat from are fruits and oranges are a favorite. Since we had a supply of oranges in the fridge Charlie decided to make an orange feeder. After a little while in his workshop an orange feeder was created.

An orange feeder with room for half an orange on each side.

All it took were a few scraps of wood (that were already treated with protective coating) and a sturdy piece of wire salvaged from an old bookcase. A couple of screw eyes to hang it with and we were in business.

We put the orange feeder just a few feet away from the hummingbird feeder and within minutes the orioles were exploring it.

Sometimes there was even a waiting line in the tree above the feeder and other times there was an oriole on both sides.

In the morning when I take the dogs out for their first “business” run I now add orange feeder maintenance to the routine.

A well used orange

Needless to say the new feeder is a hit with the orioles. We think we have at least 2 males and 2 females so we are hoping they stick around all summer so we might get to see their babies too. Most summers we’ve had glimpses of orioles around our property but this is the first year we’ve ever had them come to our hummingbird feeders so we hope to see much more of them.

Hi everyone it’s Cindy here. A couple of weeks ago we were woken up in the morning by a banging on a window downstairs somewhere. Charlie remembered the same thing happening last year at about the same time of year and was pretty sure he knew what it was. On closer inspection his suspicions were confirmed. Watch this video to see who was doing the knocking.

We are so excited to see our Eastern Bluebirds back for another season and are fairly certain that this is the same pair we had last year.

Hello Mrs. Bluebird

Our suspicions that this is the same pair is based on the fact that the female exhibited the same behavior of attacking the windows as she did last year. This pair is already staking their claim to one of our bluebird nest boxes (the same one they used last year).

Photo courtesy of Google Earth

Above is a satellite view of our house. We have two bluebird nest boxes indicated by the arrows. From the spring of 2010 through the summer of 2014 we had a pair of bluebirds nesting in the Meadow Box. We watched them raise multiple broods and enjoyed close up views when they would all come to our mealworm feeder in the yard. In 2015 we were without any resident bluebirds but in 2016 another pair showed up. This pair picked the Driveway Box to nest in. We were a little disappointed since the Driveway box is not easily viewed from inside the house or even from the back yard.

Another disappointing thing about this pair is that last year they never discovered our mealworm feeder. Even though we put out worms and every other bird in the yard would feed there, this pair didn’t seem to figure it out. They would use the birdbath that was just a few feet away but the activity of the other birds never enticed them to visit the feeder.

They’re using the feeder!

This year they came back well before any natural food is available, like live bugs, so we think that is why they finally found the feeder. We have just finished the warmest February in history for our area and never before have we seen a pair of bluebirds take up residence so soon. We have our fingers (and paws) crossed that they eventually bring their babies to the feeder so we can enjoy seeing them this year. We don’t think they are nesting quite yet as we haven’t seen Mrs. Bluebird bringing any nesting material to the box. It is still quite early and on average too cold for that yet.

Thanks for making a mess of our windows

One by product of Mrs. Bluebird’s activities is that all our windows are now full of smudges from her wings. I guess this is the bird equivalent to the dog’s nose art!

We are so excited to have our bluebirds back and will hopefully have some family pictures to show you come spring.

Hi everyone! Today we are joining our friends at the Army of Four Digest with a Serene Sunday post. One of the most serene things in our yard is our linden tree. It was planted about 25 years ago fairly close to our family room to provide shade as it matured.

Linden tree in full bloom

It is the anchor of our perennial garden and as it has grown has become the reason for changing some of the flowers to more shade loving. This year was one of the most prolific flowering seasons for the linden tree. If you are at all familiar with linden trees you know that the fragrance from the flowers is intoxicating.

Linden tree flowers

When the weather is cool enough, and we have the windows open, the fragrance from the flowers just fills the house. We aren’t the only ones who enjoy these flowers. During the time the linden tree is in bloom it is overcome with every kind of bee like creature you can imagine. Here is just a little snippet of one visitor.

If you stand under the tree during the time it is in bloom it sounds like you are standing next to a beehive. You can’t hear it in the video so you will just have to take my word for it.

The only down side to the two weeks of the sumptuously sweet smell is the mess the flowers make as they fall to the ground.

Hostas under the linden tree

Usually we have periodic rains to wash the debris off the plants under the tree but this year we have been experiencing a drought.

The hosta leaves catch everything

It doesn’t seem to have an adverse effect on the hosta. Hopefully we will have a decent rain soon to wash it away. We wish someone could invent smell-o-vision so we could share the sweet scent with you but until then maybe you can find one near you. Of course you will have to wait until next year to enjoy it though.

Disclaimer: We, Millie & Walter, do not condone the use of the following pictures or video on our blog. Proceed at your own risk…you’ve been warned!

Hi everyone, it’s Cindy here! Don’t listen to Millie and Walter. They don’t know what really is cute and what is not. Be prepared for some ultra cute pictures and video.

We have a very large willow tree in our front yard. Over the years many woodpeckers have hammered holes in this tree. Until recently we have never actually seen anything using these holes for homes. On a very rainy morning Charlie saw a mother squirrel bring her babies to a large hole in this willow tree.

She made a total of four trips to bring the whole family to the new nest. Since she was moving them during a rain storm we figured the reason was because they were getting soaked where they were.

The following day the sun came out and so did the babies.

Do you think it’s safe to go out?I thought mom said to stay in here.

It’s okay if we stay close to the nest.

These adorable babies spent much of the day running up and down the willow tree. Here is a short video of some of the action.

Yesterday this group of hooligans was scurrying around the backyard while Millie and Walter were inside. The pups sure had fun were frustrated watching all this action through the windows.

We actually aren’t sure if these are grey squirrels or red squirrels. We thought the mom that was carrying the babies was a grey squirrel (we were viewing during a rain storm from a long distance) but when looking at the babies they seem to have more reddish fur than expected. We do have both species living on our property so it could be either one. No matter what they are they sure are cute and fun to watch.

Hi everyone! Wow! Did we have an exciting day last week. On Tuesday, May 19th a pair of male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds waged a fierce all day battle for the rights to our backyard. I noticed them first thing in the morning when I took the dogs out for their bathroom duties.

Let the games begin!

Throughout the day I would glance out the window and see them still going at it.

Get off my feeder!

Occasionally they would both land on the feeder and both would take some sips from the feeder.

A temporary truce for refueling

But that wouldn’t last long and they would be at it again.

Who will be the first to give up?

They were so consumed by their turf battle that I was able to get within about 8 feet to take these pictures. I also took some video of the action that you can see below. The video is a bit long but that was after I cut it down from the 20 clips I took of them. I apologize that the birds aren’t always in the best focus but I wanted to demonstrate how fierce some of the action was. The camera had difficulty focusing on the small birds and instead would focus on the background. If you listen closely you can hear when they hit each other. You can also see that they seem to take turns being the one on the feeder and the one trying to knock the other off.

While the other was on top of the hook holding the feeder. It seemed that the one on top would not see when the other flew onto the feeder.

Where did he go?

There were brief periods of rest between skirmishes. I caught this picture of them both preening while sitting on the trellis in the perennial garden.

The arrows show where the hummingbirds are sitting.

I was getting exhausted watching this battle going on. It continued all day long until after sundown. (Yes, I turned off the lights in the kitchen and looked out at about 8:30 pm to see them still going at it) The next day only one male hummingbird remained. I would like to think the loser of the battle flew on to find his own territory.

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Wild Bird Wednesday and will take some time to stop by the blog hop host too.

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